People, Locations, Episodes

The ‘Detroit Unrest’ Of 1943, a story

*On this date in 1943 the Detroit rebellion occurred. The tragedy happened as Black renters attempted to enter their homes in a newly developed housing project in the Motor City.

Charles David Saves Many Of His Shipmates Aboard The USS Dorchester

*On this date in 1943, Charles W. David of the USS Dorchester gave his life for his country.

At a time when segregation was still practiced in the armed forces, he bravely set out to save lives. The incident occurred when a convoy of three ships and three escorting Coast Guard cutters passed through “torpedo alley” some 100 miles off the coast of Greenland during World War II. At about 1 a.m. that morning the submarine U-223 fired three torpedoes, one of which hit the midsection of the Dorchester, a U.S. Army troopship with more than 900 men on board.

Black Soldiers Die on Mississippi Army Base

On this date in 1943, a Black soldier of the 364th Army infantry was killed on an Army base in Mississippi.

The 1943 Detroit Race Riot Occurs

*On this date in 1943, the Detroit race riot took place. This was a two-day episode of racial unrest in Michigan’s largest city. By 1920, Detroit had become the fourth-largest city in the United States, driven by an industrial and population boom fueled by the rapid expansion of the automobile industry. In this era of […]

Naval Fighting Ship is Named After a Black Sailor

On this date in 1943, the SS Leonard Roy Harmon, became the first Navy fighting ship to be named after an African American.

Harmon was a World War II naval hero who courageously exposed himself to hostile gunfire to protect a shipmate and consequently was killed in action. He was awarded the Navy Cross.

The Barnett-Aden Gallery Opens

*The Barnett-Aden Gallery opened on this date in 1943. This was the first Black-owned nonprofit art gallery in America. Located in Washington, D.C., it was founded by James V. Herring and Alonzo J. Aden, who was associated with Howard University’s art department and gallery. The gallery, operated until 1969, was the first successful Black-owned private […]

Duvall v. School Board is Ruled

*On this date in 1944, Duvall v. School Board was ruled on. This case involved equal pay for certified schoolteachers in South Carolina regardless of race.  On November 10, 1943, NAACP lawyers filed the case with the federal district court to equalize the salary of Viola Louise Duvall, a Black educator from Charleston’s Burke High School. The […]

The Golden Thirteen Begin Military Training

*This date in 1944 celebrates “The Golden Thirteen.” This was the first African American naval officer-training group in Ameria.

In January of that year, the naval officer corps was all white. There were some one hundred thousand African American enlisted men in the Navy, yet none were officers. In response to growing pressure from American civil rights organizations, the leaders of the Navy reluctantly tackled commissioning a few as officers. Sixteen Black enlisted men were summoned to Camp Robert Smalls, Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois, they were:

The Imperial Courts Projects Are Built

*The Imperial Courts projects are affirmed on this date in 1944. This public housing project is located in Watts, Los Angeles, California. It is located at 11541 Croesus Avenue on Imperial Highway, between Grape Street and Mona Boulevard, near the I-105 Freeway. The federally subsidized project, which has 498 units, was completed in May 1944. […]

The Jordan Downs Projects Are Built

*The Jordan Downs projects were affirmed on this date in 1944. This is a 700-unit public housing apartment complex in Watts, Los Angeles, California. It comprises 103 buildings with townhouse-style units, ranging from one bedroom to five bedrooms. The complex is owned and managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). […]

The VLA, ‘Very Low Altitude’ Barrage Balloon Battalion, a story

*On this date in 1944, The Normandy landing operations commenced. Termed D-Day, this was the Allied invasion of Normandy, France in Operation Overlord during World War II. This was the largest seaborne invasion in modern history and began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front.

George Stinney is Executed

*On this date in 1944, a 14-year-old Black boy executed by South Carolina.

The G.I. Bill, and Black History, a story

*On this date in 1944, the G.I. Bill was signed into American law. Officially titled the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. During World War II, politicians wanted to avoid the postwar confusion about veterans’ benefits that became a political football in the 1920s and 1930s. Veterans’ organizations […]

The “Red Ball Express,” American Army Project Begins

On this date in 1944, The American Army started the “Red Ball Express,” a huge trucking operation to supply World War II troops in Europe with provisions.

The First Black Women Are Admitted To Navy WAVES

On this date in 1944, the Navy integrated their Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service better known as WAVES.

Up to that time, black women were barred from the WAVES. The efforts of Mildred McAfee and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune helped the Secretary of the Navy push through the admittance of African American women into military service.

The first two black WAVES officers, Harriet Ida Pikens and Frances Wills, were sworn in December 22 of that year. Of the 80,000 WAVES in the World War II, 72 Black women served, normally under integrated conditions.